Get It Together!
by The Great Karasu
Summary: THE HORROR! An R-Season Break-up fic! Hide the children! Lock up the pocky! Are you brave enough to go where few dare to tread? Neato! Me too!


Well, plans sure do change, ne? I was going to do a whole series based on the TREMENDOUS success of my first songfic, "Your Horoscope for Today" but I decided to go out on a limb and try out my idea for a new series. This is a "R-season Break-up" fic, but DON'T GO ANYWHERE YET!!! Please!!! Give it a chance!! Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy!  
  
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DARIEN'S POV

'Not again. I can't take this much longer. This is the third week straight that I've been scared awake by that stupid nightmare.' I peeled myself out of my sweat-drenched sheets and slowly walked through my darkened apartment to get to the kitchen. As I watched the water gurgle happily into the awaiting glass underneath the faucet, the dream resurfaced. I clenched my jaw as hard as I could, and I didn't care when I heard it pop.  
  
"I will not let you die like that, Serena," I vowed to the silence of the night. "If it means that we must be apart, then that's what it will have to be, I guess."  
  
I shut off the faucet right after the water overflowed the glass onto my hand. The clear taste of water has always managed to bring a sense of clarity after these premonitory dreams that I sometimes have. As it washed down my dry throat, it offered nothing but momentary refreshment. With a sigh, I  
placed the glass on the counter and trudged back into my bedroom.  
  
Pausing, I wandered over to the large sliding glass window and brushed away the sheer drapes to look at the gorgeous full moon hanging sorrowfully in the sky. I knew that it was reflecting the pain in its mistress' heart: the pain that I caused. "Please," I prayed to no one in particular. "Please let her get through this. If I can't be with her, at least let me see her happy. I know she'll meet someone else. I'd be content to go through the rest of my life completely alone as long as I could see her smiling face." A single tear rolled down my face as I let the sheers drop back into place.  
  
That's as many as I would allow. If I didn't keep my emotions in check like that, I'd turn into a blubbering idiot, sobbing into my Serena's arms every time I hurt her by saying I didn't love her anymore. Heck, I couldn't even look her in the eye when I said it. I was never a very good liar. I knew that Serena could see through every one of my lies because of her focused, pure love.  
  
'Maybe I'll just think about that. Her love. Maybe that will get me through the rest of tonight.' I slipped back between my cold sheets and thought of a happy, meatball-headed blonde, who is always just bursting at the seams with sunshine, hope, and love for even a hurtful idiot like me.  
  
AUTHOR'S POV

Andrew looked up from cleaning up spilt ice cream on the Crown Arcade counter just as Serena moped in through the door. "Hey there, Serena!" he said with a happy smile. He also noticed she had two of her friends with her. "Hey, Amy! Hey, Lita! How are you guys today?"  
  
They all took seats at the counter right in front of Andrew. "Some of us have seen better days," Lita said as she cast a worried look over to Serena, who rested her head on her folded arms. "I sure wish they'd straighten things out."  
  
"You mean Darien is still avoiding her?" Andrew asked as he placed a glass of soda in front of each girl.  
  
"Not just that anymore," Amy said with a sigh. She rested her elbow on the counter and cradled her chin in her palm. She reached out with her other arm to squeeze Serena's shoulder reassuringly. "He's flat out told her he doesn't love her anymore."  
  
Andrew's eyes grew wide as he leaned over the counter. He put his hand over Serena's and squeezed it gently. "Serena?"  
  
Serena sniffed in response as she looked up to meet Andrew's brotherly gaze. She plastered on a fake smile. "Don't worry about me, Andrew. I'll be fine."  
  
"You don't look like you're fine," he replied with a worried look. "That's why I'm worried." Just then, he looked up as a group of kids walked through the door and sat down to look at menus. "I have to go, but I'll be right back, okay?" Serena nodded as he straightened up and went to help the newcomers.  
  
Serena let her head fall back into her arms as she let out a sigh. "Amy, you're smart, right?"  
  
Amy and Lita's eyes widened slightly as Serena's bizarre question. "Um, yeah, I guess so. Why do you ask, Serena?"  
  
She raised her head out of her arms again to look at her friends. "Because I was wondering if you've found a logical reason why Darien's been so cold to me lately."

The two other girls gasped slightly as they looked at each other, hoping the other had a good answer. Amy sighed in defeat as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Serena," she said gently. "But I haven't. I don't think anybody but Darien knows for sure."  
  
"Oh," Serena said as she put her head down once again. "I was just wondering." She began to sob quietly.  
  
"Oh, Serena," Amy said as she put her arm around her again and gave her a hug. "Don't cry like that! We'll figure it out, I promise!"  
  
As Amy held the shaking Serena, Lita looked over her shoulder, searching for Andrew. She found him in the darkened corner by the front door talking to someone. As soon as she recognized him, she narrowed her eyes. He met her smoldering glare, and sent one right back at her. He said goodbye to Andrew and tried to make his escape unnoticed. "Oh, no you don't."

"What was that, Lita?" Amy looked up to see Lita getting up to leave. "Where are you going?"

"You stay here with Serena," Lita replied. "This'll just take a minute." She dashed out through the door and found her target. "DARIEN! Stop where you are!"  
  
Upon hearing his name, Darien stopped and turned towards the banshee scream. He causally stuck his hands into his pants pockets. "Did you need something, Lita?"  
  
She ran up to him, and being as tall as she was, almost looked him right in the eye. "Yeah, Darien, I do. I need you to drop this sack of crud you're carrying around! Did you see her in there?! She's in there crying because of YOU!"  
  
Darien turned away from Lita and stared down at the pavement. "I know."  
  
"You KNOW?" She was getting angered more and more with every passing second. "What do you mean, you KNOW?! Do you even realize how much you're hurting her? Do you even care?"  
  
He turned back to her and met her fiery gaze with one of his own. "Of course I care!" he hissed. "It's because I care that I'm doing this!"  
  
"She gave you her heart on a silver platter, and you stomped on it with hiking boots because you CARE?!!" She drew her fist back with the intent of punching his lights out. "Why, I oughta..."  
  
"Go ahead," he dared her. "If it'll make you feel better, go right ahead. It'll be nothing compared to what I'm feeling right now anyway." He closed his eyes, preparing for the impact of her fist upon his jaw.  
  
She relaxed her fist and brought her arm down. "What...what do you mean?" Her tone suddenly changed from threatening to compassionate.  
  
"Do you think I LIKE hurting her?" he asked as he opened his eyes. "I'm protecting her by keeping away from her. If I stay with her, she'll die, okay?" He turned around and started to walk away.  
  
Lita tossed his words around in her head for a split second before she hurried off after him. "Wait a minute!" She caught up to him and kept his brisk pace as they walked down the sidewalk. "She'll die? I don't understand. Why would she die because of you?"  
  
He removed the angry scowl on his face and sighed. "I don't know. I've been having this creepy dream for about a month and every time she dies terribly in my arms. That's why I broke up with her. I have to keep away, or else..." He couldn't finish.

Lita looked up at him with understanding eyes. "Darien, why didn't you tell her that? You know how strong she is."

"Yeah, I do," he said as a small smile turned the corners of his mouth upwards. "And I know she'd sacrifice everything for her friends, including me. I could never let her die because of that."  
  
"Darien," Lita grasped his shoulder and stopped him. He faced her with a confused look in his eyes. "Which would you rather...Serena dying in your arms, or Serena dying of a broken heart?" His eyes went wide as he sucked in a breath. "I mean, I may be her strongest scout, but you're her soul mate. She relies on you more than any of us. She's been coming to us for comfort, but we can only do so much. We certainly can't mend her  
heart. That's your job. I've had my share of boyfriends and crushes, but what I've never had is what you and Serena have. Your love is a beautiful thing, so please don't screw it up."  
  
"Lita, I..." His shoulders slumped as he once again found interest in the pavement.  
  
"Don't worry," she said with a smile. "She'll forgive you." He smiled back and sighed in relief.  
  
Just then a man about Darien's size bumped into him, almost knocking him over. "Hey, you know the sidewalk is for other people  
too!" the stranger called over his shoulder obnoxiously. "Try sharing some of it!"  
  
"That was rude," Lita said, sending her venomous glare into the strange man's back. "He acts like he's king of the world."  
  
Darien raised an eyebrow and looked back at Lita. "What do you mean, do you know him?"

She shrugged. "He's a new kid in our school, Damien Ire." She sighed as she hesitantly looked up at Darien. "And Amy and I have noticed that he's been hitting on Serena."  
  
Darien's eyes narrowed as he watched Mr. Sidewalk Patrol enter the arcade. "Is that so? What did you say his name was again?"  
  
SERENA'S POV  
  
I'll give Amy credit. She tried as hard as she could to be there for me. Her little arms hung from strong shoulders, and I cried on them almost daily. But I couldn't let her suffer for me. I saw her test score that afternoon, and she only outdid me by a couple of points. As soon as I finished my heart-wrenching cry, I raised my puffy eyes to meet hers. I managed to smile at her, only half-forced. "Thank you for being here for me, Amy. You have no idea how much this means to me."  
  
Amy looked relieved to see a genuine smile on my face, and smiled back. "You know I'm always here for you whenever you need me. And so are the others."

I rested my chin on my arms as my bottom lip began to tremble again. "I do know that. I just wish I wasn't such a burden on you guys."  
  
Amy squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. "You're not a burden to us, Serena. What ever gave you that idea?"

I turned my head and looked her in the eye again. This time, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to conceal with makeup. "Amy, it looks like you haven't been sleeping very well. Have you been staying up late and cramming for tests?"  
  
Her hand left my shoulder and went to gently touch the delicate puffy skin underneath her eye. "Um, yeah, I guess I have."

"Good," I managed a true, large grin as I straightened up on the stool. "I'd hate it if you were losing sleep over me. I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself."  
  
"Serena, I..." Amy was cut off as the jingle bells on the arcade door announced the presence of someone new, a young man  
wearing a Crossroads Junior High uniform. "Serena, I think maybe we ought to leave."

"What for?" I asked stubbornly as I began to take interest in the flat soda in front of me. "Andrew hasn't come back yet. I don't want to leave without talking to him for a little while."  
  
Amy opened her mouth to reply, but before any words came out, another voice came from my right side: a silky, deep voice. "Well, hello there, Serena." The words were innocent, but they still made goose bumps rise on my arm.

I turned to my right where Damien had claimed a stool and was looking at me intently with those big, brown eyes of his. He was in a few of my classes, and he didn't seem to be that bad of a guy, but there was just a vibe about him, y'know? I smiled politely. "Hi Damien. What brings you here?"  
  
"Oh, nothing in particular I guess," he said as he swiveled around on the stool to lean backwards on the counter. "I guess the earth's gravity seems to just pull me wherever you happen to be." He added a wink for emphasis.  
  
I heard Amy shudder. I felt like doing the same thing. Instead, I decided to try to brush him off politely. "Or maybe it's just some weird stroke of Fate." I turned back to my soda and began swirling the straw. I watched as the few remaining bubbles swirled right along with it and took mild interest in this.  
  
"I like Fate," he persisted. The boy obviously didn't know when to quit. "And I think she's smiling upon me right now." This time, I heard Amy nearly choke on her soda. She had to grab a few napkins and ask to be excused to the restroom. "Ah." He leaned in a little closer to me. I leaned a little farther away from him. "Looks like I've finally got you to myself for a change. I don't think your friends like me very much. Maybe you need some new friends."  
  
I turned to him sharply and narrowed my eyes. "What did you say? My friends mean the world to me! Especially Amy, Lita, Raye, Mina, and Darien!"  
  
Damien raised a curious eyebrow. "And who's this Darien? Is he your boyfriend?"  
  
I opened my mouth to reply instantly, but my anger melted away and left behind my doubt and pain from earlier. "He's...he's very important to me."  
  
"I see," Damien said as he leaned onto the counter on his elbows. I couldn't lean any farther away, and he had me where he wanted me. "So you're available?"  
  
"Go take a cold shower, Pervert!" A deep voice said as Damien went crashing to the floor. I looked up and saw the single most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Lita was standing behind Darien who had just kicked Damien off of his stool. Darien had an intense, stony look on his face that practically dared Damien to fight back. "Her personal space is for her to use, so back off!"  
  
Damien coughed to get his breath back and glared at Darien from down on the floor. A twisted smile soon spread across his face. "Mind your own business. I didn't hurt her. Did I, Serena?"  
  
My gaze went from Damien on the floor and met with Darien's stormy blue eyes. I could feel a slight tinge of color flush my cheeks and a small smile touch my lips. I swear I could see a deep caring in his eyes...for me? I looked back down at Damien and the smile on my face grew larger as his disappeared. "Maybe you ought to leave now. I'll see you in class tomorrow, 'kay?"  
  
Damien looked crushed as my rejection finally hit home. He looked back up to Darien and Lita. Lita offered her hand to help him up, but he slapped it away. I could hear her curse under her breath. He pulled himself up to a casual standing position and slid his hands into his pants pockets. "Sure, see ya tomorrow, Serena." He winked at me again as he made his escape.  
  
"Are you okay?" Darien asked me as his smoldering gaze left the door Damien had passed through. As soon as his gaze met mine, I saw a thousand emotions pass: pain, anger, jealousy, love...just to name a few. He didn't turn away like he had in the past few weeks to prevent me from getting lost in his eyes.

I pulled my gaze away instead and looked down at my folded hands in my lap. "I'm fine. Thanks, Darien." I looked up and saw a smile on his face for the first time in ages.  
  
"I'm glad," he replied. "Lita told me that creep had been bothering you."  
  
"This is the first time he's gotten this brave," I replied with a giggle. It tickled me pink to know that we were finally having a conversation that didn't leave me crying. He seemed to enjoy the sound of my laughter. I sure did. It felt good to laugh after a long day of moping around.  
  
"I'm sure it won't be the last," he replied, almost inaudibly. I could feel the pain in his heart, but it confused me. Why would his heart ache if he didn't love me anymore? I then saw him stumble a bit after Lita roughly nudged him in the ribs.  
  
"I'm glad you two are talking finally," she said, emphasizing every word. "Maybe you two should just go somewhere and talk some MORE?"  
  
"Uh, Lita," I said as I cleared my throat. She never has been and never shall be the queen of subtlety. "I don't think that's necessary."  
  
"Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Andrew piped up as he appeared behind Darien with a big smile on his face. "I saw what you did to that kid, Darien. It needed to be done."  
  
Darien turned towards the door slightly and ran a nervous hand through his dark silky, sexy (Ugh...I'm getting carried away) hair. "If you'd like?" It kind of sounded somewhere between an invitation and a question.  
  
AUTHOR'S POV  
  
The two of them walked down the street for several minutes without saying anything. They kept stealing secret glances at each other until finally, Darien stopped at a bench and sat down. "Serena..." he sighed as he rested his head in his hands. "I have a lot to explain to you, but this in no way changes anything." He realized the harshness of his words, and then raised his eyes to meet her teary ones. His features softened and almost crumbled  
when he saw her beautiful eyes full of pained tears. "Please, sit down," he said gently as he patted the bench next to him. She complied slowly but didn't look him in the eye at all.  
  
Darien took a deep breath. "I have been a harsh, cold, brutal, mean-spirited...um, you can stop me at any time."  
  
"I will," she softly replied as she tried to hide her tears from him. "Just as soon as you've covered them all."  
  
Her words bit at him, but he managed a small chuckle. "I deserved that. I deserve everything you can throw at me. Lita almost decked me a few minutes ago."  
  
Her eyes snapped up and looked him in the eye with concern. "She did what?"  
  
"She stopped herself only because I told her what I'm about to tell you." He shifted slightly on the bench so that he could look her straight in the eye. "I'm tired of insulting your intelligence, Serena. I've been sending you mixed signals by telling you I don't want to be anywhere near you, and then I come to your rescue when you need me."  
  
"But that's your duty, isn't it?" she asked as her voice steadily grew louder. "You're supposed to fight the Negaverse with us. We couldn't do that without you."  
  
He gave her a small smile that caused fresh tears to well up in her eyes. "Sure you could. My mission is to protect you as best as I can, and it was because of that mission that I broke up with you." He paused for a second to analyze her reaction.  
  
All she could do was stare back at him with wide eyes and gaping mouth. When she found that she could talk again, she managed to squeak out, "What?"  
  
"I've been having terrible dreams every night that you and I are torn away from each other and you are killed on our wedding day." He lowered his eyes and took a deep breath to clear his mind of the dream that had begun to replay there. "An ominous voice tells me to stay as far as possible from you, or you will die." Right after he finished speaking, he felt Serena's small, warm hand covering his own. He raised his eyes and looked questioningly into hers.  
  
"Darien," she gasped. "You're crying."

DARIEN'S POV  
  
I hadn't noticed the tear that had escaped until she had said something. Another followed it. And another, until I had a warm trail of tears running down my face. I overcame the shock of my feelings busting out of the prison I held them in and began to laugh softly as I cupped her face in my other hand. "So are you, Meatball Head."  
  
She turned toward the touch and closed her eyes as more tears flowed down her face. I brushed them away gently with my thumb, reveling in the feeling of endless warmth that had suddenly enveloped us. She opened her eyes and looked at me hopefully as she began to brush the tears away from my eyes. "Oh, Darien," she drawled as she launched herself into my arms. I held her tightly to me and let the emotion just wash over me like a powerful tsunami. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I couldn't," I murmured into her hair. "I didn't want you to die so helplessly. I couldn't convince myself that this was just a stupid dream, and the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt you like I have. Serena, I just..." I was cut off when she placed her two fingers on my lips.  
  
"Darien, I think I understand." She smiled through her crystalline tears as I met her gaze. "You set aside your feelings so that you could protect me. In a way, I really admire that. I know that I could never be that selfless. But, it still hurts."  
  
"I know," I replied as I began to do the thing my heart resisted, but my head demanded. I pushed her away gently and hung my head in shame. "But like I said before, this changes nothing." I stood up and turned to walk away, fighting off my screaming heart. "I won't let you die like that."  
  
I heard her cringe and begin to sob again. "But Darien! I love you!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. 'Uh oh,' I thought. 'This isn't going to work. I HAVE to get out of here, or risk never being able to leave her side ever again.' She reached out and grasped my hand. I refused to shake her away.  
  
'Brush her off!' my mind screamed at me. 'You can't risk her dying because of this love!'  
  
'Shut up, you stupid mass of ganglia!' I mentally shot back. 'Lita's right. I can't stand to break her heart like this.' I turned around again and kneeled on the pavement as I received another tackle-hug from Serena. "And know that I have always loved you. God, Serena! I love you so much that it hurts! But please, until I find out what exactly those dreams mean, I can't be around you as much."  
  
Her tears slowed again until she was sniffling and hiccupping in my arms. "It feels so good to hear you say that, Darien. I'll try to be stronger, so that when you find out what it means, we can face it together."  
  
AUTHOR'S POV  
  
The next day, Serena trudged down the street towards school like a zombie. Luna padded alongside her ward and looked up at her with orange eyes full of worry. Serena had woken up about an hour earlier in a terrible panic and was unable to roll over and get back to sleep. She decided to stay up and get ready for school and was now going to be a full half-hour early when she got to homeroom.

"Serena?" Luna asked softly so as not to attract the attention of the other pedestrians to herself. "Are you okay?"  
  
"No, Luna," Serena replied as she stopped and leaned against a brick wall. She looked down at the concerned little black cat and  
sighed. "If I am anything, I am not okay."  
  
"What happened?" Luna asked as Serena slid down the brick wall and sat down against it. She hopped into the girl's lap and tried to comfort her. "Did you and Darien...?"  
  
"We straightened things out, Luna," she replied curtly as she mindlessly scratched Luna behind her ears.  
  
Luna sighed in defeat as she lowered her head onto Serena's lap. Suddenly, it dawned on her. "What about that bad dream you had this morning? Is that what's upsetting you?"  
  
Serena raised an eyebrow and looked down at Luna with mild shock. "How did you know I had a bad dream?"  
  
Luna smirked and raised her eyes to meet her mistress'. "Well, after I went flying across the room after you shot up in bed, the idea struck me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Do you want to talk about it? How bad was it?"  
  
Serena sighed again just as Darien came around the corner. He saw her and Luna sitting on the sidewalk and quickly recoiled back around the corner. He had to close his eyes and take deep breaths to control his accelerating heartbeat. His heart stuck into his throat when Serena began to talk.  
  
"Well, an upsetting dream is when you dream of starring in the school play with all of your friends, classmates and family in the audience and then you realize you're naked as a jay bird. A really unpleasant dream is when you dream of being chased by some ax-murderer and you end up plummeting off of a cliff. This dream would border on horrific."  
  
Darien balled up his fist and restrained himself from flying around the corner and taking her into his arms and making her forget all about her nightmare. Unfortunately, he had his own to worry about. "This is so unfair!" he hissed, hoping that Serena's acute hearing wouldn't pick him up.  
  
"I dreamt that Darien and I were getting married," she told Luna. Darien sucked in his breath as he continued to shamelessly eavesdrop. "Just as we were going to seal our vows with a kiss, this terrible explosion blew us apart, killing the both of us. This deep, creepy voice told me that if I were to stay with him, the Earth would face disaster, and the both of us would die horribly."  
  
"Gotta...keep...my cool," he growled thorough clenched teeth as he clenched his fist even tighter. "Serena..."  
  
"Oh my," Luna gasped as she sat up and looked into Serena's hurt, tired eyes. "What do you think it means?"  
  
"I don't know, Luna," she replied. "All I know is that I love him so much that I could never stand to see him killed. But I also know that I would never let him get killed without trying to do something about it. I don't know what to make of it at all." She sighed, too tired to cry, and stood up right after letting Luna off of her lap. She managed a small smile to her feline friend. "Anyway, thanks for listening Luna. I'm gonna head on to class and  
get started on a project I'm working on. See ya!" With that, she clutched her bag and lunch and jogged down the sidewalk towards school.  
  
Luna stood there and watched her disappear around the corner. "Poor kid." She then walked around the corner and, no surprise to her, found Darien leaning against the wall, teeth clenched, eyes closed and fist so tight his knuckles had turned a ghastly white. "I'm surprised you managed to hold back as long as you did," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
Darien loosened his jaw and slid down to a sitting position with a sigh. "You think YOU are?"  
  
She sat primly on the sidewalk and stared at him expectantly. "So what are you going to do about it? I seem to have been the only one able to see through this charade you've put on from the beginning, and you're fooling yourself if you think you can just brush her aside and evade her for the rest of your lives."  
  
Darien gave her a tired smile. "Serena's right. You ARE a nag!"  
  
Luna harrumphed as she turned her nose up. "I only nag because I care!" She turned her eyes back to him as they began to fill with emotional tears. "Your love has survived death twice. Why would you kill it now?"  
  
"Because ever since Rini appeared, I've been having the same dream that she had last night," he said as he turned his eyes down. "I really tried ignoring it at first, but I just kept on having it." He raised his eyes to Luna's again, only to see her on her feet, practically in hysterics, not to mention angry.  
  
"You fool! You have so little faith in her! If you truly are her protector, then start acting like it! Her love for you is as strong as ever, but if you continue to break that huge heart of hers, THAT will kill her! You won't need to wait until your wedding!" She began to shake as the tears began to fall. "She is the strongest person I know. You can't let one little dream prevent either of you from being happy. You can both fight this if you would just stop being so afraid."  
  
"Luna," he gasped, stunned at her emotional monologue. He stood up and walked over to her and kneeled on the ground. "You're absolutely right." He cautiously reached out to her trembling form and pulled her into his arms. She resisted at first, and almost turned him into her new scratching post, but sighed and took comfort in his warmth. "Serena's lucky to have you around, Luna. You seem to love her just about as much as I do. Everything's  
changed now. I thought that since I was the only one having the dream that it was my responsibility to act upon it. But since Serena's getting it too...well, there's no sense in suffering apart."


End file.
